2015.05.02

3) I want to write complications for it. Complications are the elements that can be configured in watch faces. A quick google search has not turned up any information on creating them.

4) It was obvious that the watch was going to be a relatively simple i/o device attached to my phone. Brief experience bears that out -- with the exception of the watch face and complications (some of which DO depend upon the iPhone -- Weather, for instance) -- it's a new interface into existing apps on your iPhone.

As such, it creates a new category of interactions which used to be folded into your phone -- extremely brief ones for which you might have carried your phone in your hand (e.g., moving to the next song or changing the volume on your music -- exactly what buttons on your headphones or cable were intended to do) -- like incessantly checking the time, or a countdown timer you have in place.

So I'm not quite sure that I like the idea of games on the watch. If you are sufficiently engaged in something to interact with it constantly, why not use your phone, which has a bigger screen and better UX? The only game type I can see working on the watch is something where you make a very simple decision every few minutes or so. Definitely NOT highly interactive systems.

5) Oddly, the watch is more intrusive than the phone for interacting, because it absolutely requires two hands. There are a lot of things I can do on the iPhone with a single hand (the previously mentioned music manipulations, simple short texts or typing with one thumb, swiping, etc.) but I have to have my phone out and in one hand to do it. The watch, which doesn't need to be taken out or put away, must be manipulated with the opposite hand. It sounds small but it it weighing heavily right now -- partly because in each case the primary use hand is my right hand. If i'm holding the phone to do one handed manipulations, it's in the right hand. If I'm manipulating the watch in any way other than just flipping my wrist to the see currently displayed glance or app, I'm doing it with the right hand. I assume that lefties will act correspondingly using the left hand.

2014.03.03

I'm still too sick to put thoughts together. So is whoever wrote this, but it's hilarious:

MEJeremy Slater. You know, the awesome screenwriter. I'm a big fan of your work, by the way. Especially the way you directed Jurassic Park. And that other one...what was it called? Snakes on a Something. Bus? Plane? Plane, right?

2014.02.25

But I will say that I have a new appreciation for pistolcraft as a martial art, having visited Gunsite Academy in Paulden, AZ for a one week Pistol 250class in January. I would say it took 3-5 years of regular training (2+ hours a night 3-4 nights a week) to feel comfortable in my ability to handle a situation with Kenpo. One week of excellent training on top of years of casual shooting might have done it using a pistol.

Wow. You really think you made THAT much progress? I mean, that much Kenpo is going to make it pretty much instinctive, right?

And here's my (somewhat) long-winded explanation:

They're very different. Consider the decision tree, to begin with. Ed Parker's Kenpo teaches well over 100 different techniques. They are not intened to be used verbatim, but represent examples of self defense motion. If you try to decide which technique to use, you'll spend so much time shuffling position, attack, defense, and environment that you'll get your clock cleaned. There are ways to reduce the combinatorial explosion, including muscle memory, becoming creatively post-technique, and probably others my cold and fevered brain can't come up with right now. The decision tree on a firearm in a typical situation consists of "am I in immediate threat of lethal force? then shoot the threat until it stops". It's a very different thing.

If you are a responsible martial artists, you have to make the determination that it's worth fighting right now. As a student of the arts who is aware of commotio cordis, I understand that any punch thrown is potentially lethal, and that is the bar that I set for fighting: if life is not threatened, walk away. That calculation is the same one that allows for use of a firearm in self defense (generally speaking -- I am not a lawyer):

is the potential victim Innocent of current wrongdoing?

is the threat Imminent?

is the response Proportional?

can the threat be Avoided?

am I being Resonable in evaluating these questions?

Regarding "avoidance", I'm just going to include it and not worry about Castle Doctrine or Stand Your Ground and just assume, from the beginning, that I would prefer not to kill someone if I don't have to -- if I can avoid the situation I should do so. That closes a big can of worms that I'm not going to address while my brain is cold/fever fried.

So for me, the calculation of whether this is worth fighting over is very close to the question of whether this is worth shooting someone over. As such, the decision tree for using a firearm in self defense is much shorter than the decision tree for using Kenpo. Kenpo allows for much more proportionality in response, but as soon as a punch is thrown, the encounter is already potentially lethal.

So that's the decision tree part. Now to the training part. I mentioned that Kenpo teaches more than 100 techniques, plus kata, fighting/sparring techniques, sets, and a large collection of basics (kicks, blocks, punches, parries, stances, movements,....). Gunsite teaches a five-count presentation:

On top of which you must understand stance, sight alignment, grip, and trigger press. All of which are simple if not easy. But the basic "technique" that you will use once you enter a fight is pretty well set. The variables are fewer and their variation generally less. (generally -- I'm sick, so be nice)

There's just a lot less to learn in order to effectively use a pistol. Which is what makes them so useful to people who don't want to spend 8-10 hours per week at the dojo in order to protect themselves. We could require all police officers to spend 3 years getting an effective black belt in martial arts, but instead we send them to the police academy and teach them to shoot. (Yes, they learn hand-to-hand techniques as well). It's just more efficient.

In addition, a handgun is a far better tool for a small, weak, or physically challenged individual than a black belt is. A handgun can be used from a position of disadvantage. It can be used against multiple attackers. It can be used at range.

Since I cannot physically practice Kenpo anymore, I've had to reconsider personal defense. White American males of my age and class are not prime candidates for violent crime, and Kenpo has for years been more of a fascinating physical and mental discipline than a plan for Der Tag, but I do occasionally worry about my ability to deal with a situation since I can't practice and I can't count on my body to perform under stress.

When we moved back to the US, we had some specific concerns about Sara's safety. She appeared on at least one list of people destroying America on some rather unsavory rightwing sites. Having had some previous experience with a stalker, we took the matter rather seriously for a while, but eventually concluded that her lowered profile was probably sufficient protection.

During our research, however, we determined that Washington state has some of the weakest, if not the weakest, requirements to obtain a concealed carry permit in the country. I'm not going to talk about the sense of that, at least not now, but we did look at obtaining carry permits. With a carry permit (called a CPL -- Concealed Pistol License) you can carry concealed (Washington is generally an open carry state) in most locations and you don't have to deal with waiting periods while buying firearms in Washington state because they've already done a background check on you. You still need to do background checks as required by law (e.g. any firearm you buy from a licensed dealer), but there are no statutory waiting periods.

Each having a background with guns (both of us had at least partially rural upbringings, and my father thought he wanted to be Ernest Hemingway when he grew up), we had seriously discussed whether it was necessary to teach our children to shoot and about gun safety. We decided that they were more likely to be urbanites that we were, and put all our firearms in storage during their years in our house (and of course they stayed in storage in the US while we were in Canada). We never expected Kiernan to be the paintball reincarnation of Wyatt Earp :-).

With our empty nest came a desire to re-examine and re-experience shooting. We have bought several new firearms and visited a variety of local ranges as well as taking handgun training classes.

No, I'm not going to announce whether or not we have CPLs, nor am I going to announce whether or not we carry legally or otherwise.

But I will say that I have a new appreciation for pistolcraft as a martial art, having visited Gunsite Academy in Paulden, AZ for a one week Pistol 250class in January. I would say it took 3-5 years of regular training (2+ hours a night 3-4 nights a week) to feel comfortable in my ability to handle a situation with Kenpo. One week of excellent training on top of years of casual shooting might have done it using a pistol. I put videos of the two simulators on youtube here and here.

So there will be quite a bit more conversation about guns than there has been. Since I doubt there are a whole lot of readers out there, I don't know if it matters. If I offend you and you leave, sorry about that.